Mariconda, Barbara: - Barbara Mariconda Award-winning author Barbara Mariconda is one of those people who "has done it all!" In addition to authoring Ten for Me and Sort it Out! (2009 IRA and CBC Children's Choice and 2009 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year List) for Arbordale, she is an educator (K-6), a mentor teacher, an adjunct professor of Children's Literature and Process Writing. Barbara has also written a wide variety of musicals, songs, novels, and numerous professional books for teachers. She frequently speaks on the topic of writing for and with children, and provides professional development for teachers at seminars across the country. She lives in Connecticut where she is a partner in the educational seminar and consulting firm, Empowering Writers, LLC., and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Visit Barbara's website: http: //empoweringwriters.com/

Rogers, Sherry: - Sherry Rogers spent twelve years as a corporate graphic designer and artist before "leaving it all behind" for the freelance world of illustrating children's books. Through illustrating The First Fire, Sherry remembers her own ancestor, Na Ni, a Cherokee woman from the mountains of North Carolina. Some of Sherry's other Arbordale titles include The Penguin Lady, Ten for Me, Hey Diddle Diddle, Newton and Me, Moose and Magpie, Paws, Claws, Hands & Feet, and The Deductive Detective; as well as her award-winning titles: Sort It Out!, Kersplatypus, Burro's Tortillas, and If You Were a Parrot. Sherry lives in Northern California with her family and their pets.